Revealed: How Much You Could Earn with Australia’s Five Six-Figure Trades 

New BizCover tools let school leavers and career changers compare the pay, qualification costs and training time involved in 19 Australian trades 

Qualified workers in five Australian trades can earn at least $100,000 a year before tax without a university degree, according to new BizCover analysis. However, potential earnings once qualified are only one part of deciding which trade to train for. The cost and time involved, along with minimum apprentice pay, can change with the trade, location and starting point. 

To help people weigh up these trade-offs, BizCover has created two interactive tools. The Trade Career Leaderboard ranks all 19 trades across 12 categories, including qualification costs, training time, apprentice wages, completion rates and qualified earnings.  

The Trade Career Calculator then narrows the comparison to a specific pathway, updating the relevant cost, time and pay figures based on the user’s chosen trade, state or territory and whether they are leaving school or considering a career change later on in life. 

The tools launch in time for the Australian Government’s inaugural Jobs & Skills Month, running from 20 October to 20 November 2026 under the theme “Pathways to Success”. 

Kanika Sharma, Head of People & Culture at BizCover, said the tools were designed to help people look beyond the salary attached to a trade. 

“Having these figures side by side gives people a starting point for thinking about their options and starting the conversation. The next step is finding out what the pathway would look like: what training is available locally, what an apprenticeship involves and how the working arrangements would fit into their lives.” 

Among the five six-figure trades, electricians have the highest earnings at approximately $113,932 a year. They are followed by refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics at $109,200, builders at $105,000, and gasfitters and plumbers at $103,480 each. The builder figure is a SEEK advertised-salary estimate rather than a measured employee-earnings figure. The gap between the highest and lowest of the five is more than $10,000 a year. 

Location can make another substantial difference. Based on the providers assessed, the full-fee builder route totalled $67,750 in Victoria and $29,298 in New South Wales, a difference of $38,452. 

The time needed to qualify also varies. Builder has the longest indicative qualification time in the comparison, at around six years. Arborist, baker, hairdresser and landscaper or horticulturist have the shortest, at three years. 

Subsidised training may reduce the course fee for some apprentices. Nine of the 19 trades have a $0 course fee available under at least one subsidised apprenticeship pathway, subject to eligibility. Other training and qualification costs may still apply. 

BizCover compiled the analysis using published information from selected training providers, licensing authorities, Fair Work, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Jobs and Skills Australia, SEEK and NCVER. Figures are indicative, with full assumptions, limitations and sources available in the published methodology. 

Explore the Trade Career Leaderboard and Calculator or take the five-question Which Trade Suits You? Quiz. 

The full methodology can be found on the Trade Career Leaderboard and Calculator page. 

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